Walking into a Davie High bathroom, students and staff are met with circumstances of all shapes and sizes—from the seemingly endless clouds of smoke haze covering from floor to ceiling to the lines out the door and people crowding in and around stalls chatting it up with friends. As students make their daily trips to the bathroom, whether between classes or after their teacher has finished their lesson, many find themselves striding to the mirrors before or after using the restroom, taking “fit pics,” touching up various aspects of their appearance, or simply hanging out. 

That is until the mirrors went missing during the week of April 7.

The sudden disappearance of the mirrors stirred immediate concern from students and vocal opposition. Photos of graffiti scattered in various bathrooms around the school, with writing saying “bring back our mirrors” and “putt it back,” could be seen publicly through DHS Snapchat stories, leaving many in shock and others seemingly finding the situation to be quite humorous.

While no official explanation was given before their removal from the bathroom, that didn’t stop students from drawing their own conclusions. 

“I think the mirrors were removed because that is a lot of the reason why students take so much time—they do their bathroom business and then they stand in the mirrors and talk for a while,” sophomore Madison Duggins said.

Duggins also claims that this alteration of the restrooms does not just affect students altogether, but it also has an increased impact on student athletes and club members who have to stay after school on certain days of the week.

“I do wish the bathrooms still had the mirrors because a lot of times after school, for sports, I get ready in the bathroom because I don’t like being crowded in the locker room. But I can’t do my hair without the mirrors and make sure my uniforms look right.”

While it is likely that the amount of time students spend in the bathroom has influenced this change in policy, it’s no secret that Davie High restrooms have been the subject of repeated vandalism, which has only seemingly worsened over the past four months. In the fall of 2024, many of the bathroom doors were shut and students had limited access to which restrooms they could use as the vandalism from students initially started increasing.

From used paper towels littered across the tiled floors to the flushing of various unsupported items—especially vaping devices—and writing scattered throughout stall walls, this ongoing issue has finally pushed the limits of Davie’s administration team. Coupled with the excessive amount of time certain students seemed to be spending in the bathrooms, these developments finally prompted the administration to take action.

In a survey conducted by the Weekly Talon with responses from 107 students, many respondents believed that the reasoning behind removing the mirrors was either the uptick in vandalism or that it was related to the new SmartPass system. Unlike in previous surveys by The Weekly Talon, though, nobody surveyed has accused a specific group of students, like the freshmen, of being the cause of the change. Another student, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed that they believe the issue revolved around vaping and how the restrooms have become the go-to destination for smoking on campus. 

“They were removed because of students gathering to vape in the bathroom, and then using the excuse that they’re looking in the mirror,” the student claims.

Regardless of whether students agree with the removal of the mirrors, very few are fond of one proposed solution: to move the mirrors to the hallways outside the restrooms.

“This will crowd hallways and cause more distractions while walking in the hallway rather than going straight to class,” sophomore Hazel Reavis said. “[The mirrors] being in the bathroom makes them harder to access, which will make them less of a distraction.”

Beyond an ironic increase in vandalism resulting from their removal, many students surveyed by The Weekly Talon claimed that they have not seen any notable changes in how students behave in the restroom. Other students report that they have seen their peers still gathering in the spots where the mirrors used to be. Only this time, students are gathering around each other’s phones.

Of those surveyed, 96% were against the removal of the mirrors, with 88 of those students being female and 15 being male. But will this data and responses from students lead to any improvement in bathroom behavior?

Many students have consistently expressed their disagreement towards the change, especially by pointing fingers at staff and administration. When asked to weigh in on the removal of the mirrors and increased level of vandalism in the restrooms, Assistant Principal Chelsea Dvorak offered some hope for the possibility of mirrors returning and restrooms reopening at full capacity in the near future, but only if the behavior makes a complete switch. 

“Please reiterate that the administration wants to give the bathrooms back even less whenever people graffiti them,” Dvorak said. 

While the removal of the mirrors affects some students more than others, it’s clear that the issue of vandalism is increasing, and the hope of things returning to normal depends on how students continue to treat the property of Davie High.